IPL 2021 KKR spinners hold aces as supporters wait for the return of 'Dhoni's Magic' in CSK for the final season.

Chennai Super Kings' strongest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday, would be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's savvy captaincy in canary yellow.

If statistics are to be believed, CSK will start as favorites against Kolkata Knight Riders on 'Dasara' day, in their ninth final appearance in 12 editions (they were suspended in two). However, in terms of trophies, there isn't much of a difference.

CSK has three titles but has lost five finals, whilst KKR has won both finals under the erratic Gautam Gambhir. CSK, led by Dhoni, has mastered the art of reaching the finals.

KKR, on the other hand, will be in the hunt after winning one of the most thrilling high-scoring summit clashes in 2012, when they chased down a target of 190 with two balls to spare.

CSK's prospects of capturing a fourth title on Friday will be determined by how effectively they handle KKR's spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy (economy rate 6.40), Shakib Al Hasan (ER:6.64), and Sunil Narine (ER:6.44), who have been superb in this tournament.

In reality, since Andre Russell's hamstring injury, Shakib's all-round qualities have given KKR more balance in the second half.

The final match, though, will come with its own set of pressures, and how these three perform when put to the test against a team of battle-hardened "been there, done that" pros will be crucial.

In the CSK ranks, there is a wealth of experience. Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, and Ravindra Jadeja are all over 40, with Dwayne Bravo at 38, Faf du Plessis at 37, Ambati Rayudu (36) and Robin Uthappa just shy of his 36th birthday (32). CSK's batting, on the other hand, will be centered on Ruturaj Gaikwad.

CSK appears impervious to huge match pressure, thanks to three mid-level seasoned internationals like Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur, who understand pressure situations well. Raina, his "right-hand man" and a true-blue IPL legend, was dropped this IPL as an example.

The former India player appeared to be overweight and out of touch, and was thus replaced by Uthappa, who played a key part in the game against Delhi Capitals by launching the chase with a bang.

The Knight Riders, on the other side, have a World Cup-winning captain who was instrumental in the England team's transition as white-ball captain.

Many believe Russell should take over for Morgan, who has had a poor IPL with the Willow.

However, it is his leadership that has endured the test of time, as he has effectively marshaled his resources. Shubman Gill was kept as the opener, and the youngster has had a good run.

The belief in Venkatesh Iyer would aid the Indian white-ball squad, while Narine has rediscovered his mojo with steady support following a revamped action.

Even in difficult circumstances, Morgan is as quiet and unobtrusive as Dhoni, and it would be a duel of two ticking clocks trying to figure out the next move in what promises to be a thrilling three-hour battle.

Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.

Match Starts at 7:30 pm IST.